Two videos of the arrest show that Mr. Gray was unable to walk properly after being handcuffed and he was “folded” into the Police van for transport. Neither video shows any misconduct by the Police. Although his neck injury suggests that something happened after he ran from Officers. The actual reason for stopping Mr. Gray is unclear and other than running from the Police there is no real reason seen to search or arrest him, until after he is searched by Police.
Freddie Gray was taken to the Police Station where he made a request for medical attention which seemingly was ignored or delay, he fell into a coma and after several surgeries and seven days Freddie Gray died of his injuries, injuries it seems clear he did not have upon arrest. All of this is tragic and is cause for investigation, since the Officers names have been released and protests have begun but more tragically than his death will be how Freddie Gray will be remembered.
The protests turned violent and Baltimore was set on fire and looted by those who felt it is OK to take these events and steel from their neighbors and burn their homes and businesses. Baltimore for more than three days has seen the result of anger, poor economy and a society that has forgotten to teach its children discipline of any kind. The legacy of Freddie Gray should have been the investigation into the Police Department and changes so others do not share his fate but the Legacy of Freddie Gray is now one of violence and hate. Both sides now fueling a fire that ultimately will end as all riots do with a destroyed city and regret.
The people who have chosen violence as their recourse will and have burned their city to the ground and in the end will benefit with what they could hold as they ran from their millions of dollars of destruction but the scars they leave on society will last long after they are gone. We have seen this behavior before in Detroit and California and more recently in Ferguson Mo with no real solution life will go on but it will take decades for these wounds to heal now if they ever do.
We can ask ourselves what can be done and come up with a long list of ideas to try and many will be but what we as members of this society rarely ask ourselves is what we should not do, and I would say destroying the neighborhoods we grew up in is atop that list. It is a sad commentary on America when we see no recourse but the breaking of our own laws and the destruction of our own histories but we as a people keep electing law breakers and listening to those who peddle in hatred what other examples do we have left?
The solution can be found in each of us but we must be strong enough to resist this idea of retribution, it is not our place to make things even and even if we thought it was we are incapable of granting life back to Mr. Gray so even is ultimately impossible. What is possible is change, effecting the kind of change that makes our country stronger and less divided, the kind of change that brings pride and peace. If you listen to Hillary Clinton she would say we need to fundamentally change our religions, She is wrong, I would say we simply need to listen to the idea of our Christian beliefs and begin to heal each other through a common goal of making our own neighborhoods better. We have seen what violence gets us can we please try some forethought and simple love thy neighbor now?